DNC NOTEBOOK: Segways and expensive sodas

10:15 Just paid $2.75 for a Dr. Pepper inside the convention center. Those are Broncos game prices! I could have bought McAuliffe's book for just $7.25 more.

10:10 Second Segway sighting, as it zooms past McAuliffe. Tom
Brokaw will be signing his book at the same table at noon. McAuliffe
pauses for a minute to pose for a photo with Pennsylvania delegates.
"How did I look?" He laughs after the cameras flash.

10:04 Inside the convention center, a booth is selling
rhinestone donkeys for $18 at the Official Democratic National
Convention Store. McAuliffe is inside signing his book "What a Party!"

10 a.m. Just realized something is missing from downtown:
haven't seen a single panhandler. But there's a guy selling white
"rally towels" with Obama's mug on them. 2 for 10 bucks.

9:56 a.m. Koppel spots Terry McAuliffe, DNC Chairman, and jogs after him. He leads him back to the blue bear for an on-camera interview.

9:54 a.m. Koppel is hanging out by the big blue bear if
anyone wants to meet him. He's smiling, shaking hands and holding court
while resting against a concrete barricade.

9:46 First Segway scooter sighting. He buuzes past group in purple T-shirts that read: "Pro Faith Pro Family Pro Choice"

9:40 Woman talking on cell phone: "I just got my picture
taken with Ted Koppel! You can't spit around here without hitting a
celebrity! "

Second celebrity sighting, same spot: former Gazette reporter Ed Sealover.

9:30 - 14th and Stout. Dozens of shiny bikes are parked and
ready to be loaned out by Freewheelin. They'll even give you a helmet
and lock for your free bike after you show them ID and register.

9:25 The kids are followed by hundreds of Democrats in convention finery of suits, ties and dresses.

9:15 Teenagers pouring out of half a dozen school buses and
walking into the Denver Performing Arts Complex for daylong
events."It's morning in America!" A smiling man says as the kids walk
past into Boettcher Concert Hall.

8:55 a.m. First political T-shirt sighting: "Tell your mama to vote for Obama." 15th and Curtis.

8:50 a.m. Helicopters are buzzing over Denver. Other than a
heavy police presence near the Byron G. Rogers Federal Building, looks
like a fairly normal Monday morning downtown.

LIGHT RAIL PACKED WITH COMMUTERS, CONVENTION-GOERSTraffic
moved smoothly into downtown Denver on Interstate 25 this morning, as
the Democratic National Convention seemed to have little impact on
morning rush hour, at least south of Denver. The light rail was packed, though, with a mix of regular commuters and convention-goers. Kristy Milligan, of Colorado Springs, came up with her sister, mother and a friend. "I think there's a lot of excitement in the Springs for the Democratic convention," said Milligan. They came for an event called Unconventional Women, which will focus on getting more women to run for office. Part of the reason they chose the light rail was to avoid the hassles.
The $32 they spent on fares, she said, would still be less than they
would spend on parking. But that wasn't the only reason. "We're trying to be environmentally conscious," Milligan said. "We carpooled up, in the spirit of the convention." Milligan didn't plan to come up later in the week, or attend any other
events, because, she said, "You have to balance the value of
participation with the hassles."

Introduction of and Report by the Rules CommitteeThe Honorable Howard DeanChair, Democratic National CommitteeSunita LeedsCo-Chair Rules CommitteeChair of the DNC Indo-American Leadership CouncilThe Honorable Mary Rose OakarCo-Chair Rules CommitteeFormer Member of the US Congress, Ohio,President of the American-Arab Anti Discrimination CommitteeThe Honorable David WaltersCo-Chair Rules CommitteeFormer Governor of OklahomaPresident of Walters Power International

Video - Changing the Course of Our NationFeaturing Ashley Baia
-Native of Pennsylvania and an Obama field organizer mentioned in
Obama's Philadelphia speech. Know as the "sandwich girl" who, at age 9,
convinced her mother she liked mustard & relish sandwiches to save
money while her mother was fighting cancer. She is now twenty-three.

Introduction of Convention Co-ChairsThe Honorable Howard DeanChair, Democratic National CommitteeThe Honorable Shirley FranklinMayor of Atlanta, GeorgiaThe Honorable Leticia Van de PutteState Senator, Texas District 26The Honorable Kathleen SebeliusGovernor of KansasThe Honorable Nancy PelosiSpeaker of the US House of RepresentativesMember of the US House of Representatives, CaliforniaPermanent Chair of the 2008 Democratic National Convention